Nelson Commonwealth Marine Reserve is a 6,123 km2 marine protected area within Australian waters located in the Southern Ocean[2] near the South Australia-Victoria border. The reserve was established in 2007[3] and is part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.

The reserve spans deepwater ecosystems (below 3,000 m (9,800 ft)) and encloses geological features including plateaus, knolls, canyons and the abyssal plain. It is an important migration area for humpback, blue, fin and possibly sei whales.[4]

Protection

The entirety of the Nelson marine reserve area is IUCN protected area category VI and is zoned as 'Special Purpose'.[4]

Zone IUCN Activities permitted Area
(km2)
Recreational fishing Commercial fishing Mining
Special Purpose VI Yes No with approval 6,123
[Note 1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Summary of permitted activities only, see source for details[5]

References

  1. ^ "Nelson Commonwealth Marine Reserve on OpenStreetMap". openstreetmap.org. © OpenStreetMap contributors. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. ^ See Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean regarding differing recognitions of the boundaries
  3. ^ "Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 - Marine". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Nelson Commonwealth Marine Reserve". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  5. ^ "South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network - Zoning and activities". environment.gov.au. © Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2017.

External links